The meeting is at 5:30 p.m. at Dean Technical High School in the Fifield Community Room, 1045 Main St.

The state in November ordered the city to close the Center for Excellence, 156 Cabot St., because officials said it was improper to have a school of all special education students.

The state originally wanted the Center for Excellence closed in January after the Christmas break, but the city got a waiver that lets the facility stay open until the end of the school year, said Devin M. Sheehan, School Committee vice chairman.

According to the School Department website, "The Center for Excellence consists of a cluster of specialized programs at one site that is specifically designed to address the needs of students whose significant challenges prevent them form accessing the general education curriculum in traditional ways."

The School Committee decided to move the students and programs that serve them at the Center for Excellence to two schools. Those in kindergarten to grade two were to go to the E.N. White School, 1 Jefferson St., and the rest would go to Peck School, 1916 Northampton St.

But Peck Principal Paul Hyry-Dermith told Superintendent David L. Dupont in a Feb. 19 letter, which was discussed at the School Committee's March 18 meeting, the move would do more harm than help. Moving the 80 students in grades three to eight and staff of 30 for those grades from the Center for Excellence to Peck would displace five rooms of programs at Peck, he said.

The rooms are used for occupational therapy, internal suspension, instrumental music instruction, small group instruction, professional development, meetings and after-school programs, he said.

Committee member at large Michael J. Moriarty said options were discussed at a meeting Hyry-Dermith was welcome to attend before the student redistribution plan was voted on.

"You think there are better alternatives, can you share them with us?" Moriarty said.

Hyry-Dermith suggested using the building the Center for Excellence occupies, the former Lawrence School, in other ways to free up space elsewhere in the system. An example would be as a kindergarten center for children from different zones in the city, he said.

Dupont said he was willing to consider all options and appreciated Hyry-Dermith's letter, "but I want to make it clear Mr. Hyry was not ingnored in this process at all."

After debate, the School Committee by voice vote rescinded the the plan it had approved for the Center for Excellence students and programs and scheduled Thursday’s meeting.